The discussion page of Free Thinking Individuals Throughout the Shenandoah Valley.
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"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think." ...Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

The Law of Unintended Consequences

They have been trickling into courtrooms across Virginia in recent days. But this week, next week and week after week after that, thousands of traffic cases that carry steep new civil penalties will slam the state's judicial system.All summer, the political upset has been growing over new and higher fees for the most egregious driving offenses, fees that in some cases run as high as $3,000. But the practical effect is about to hit even harder, and judges and court clerks predict an unprecedented wave of trials, appeals, strategies and anger as they begin to hear cases subject to the new law.

1 comment:

Using money generated from fines is a poor road building strategy. Heavy fines for reckless driving and speeding in my mind makes alot of sense to increase the cost on unsafe drivers. I'm a fan of raising the gasoline tax to fund transportation projects, but when I hear folks complain about the new fees that were passed they only mention getting rid of them without mentioning where the money to replace it will come from.